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MEMORIAL DISCOURSE 



ri:i:\< in.i' r.v 



REV. WM. P. PAINE, D.D., 



FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF BIS PASTORAL CONNECTION 

Willi Mil. 

( X >N< -UK< ;.\TI< >\.\L ( HTJBCH, 

in HOLDEN, 



OCTOBER 24th, 



Willi i »l -111:1: \< COMPAX1 [NG EXERCISES. 



\\m|;< |>Tl.i; 
tCl 01 Tin DAIL1 PBK88, 1 1:. 11 



.MKMORLU DISCOUBSE 



PBEA< HED BY 



REV. WW. I'. PAINE, n.D.. 



THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF BIS PASTORAL CONNECTION 

Will! I II I 

>N< .Ki:< ..\T1< >\.\L ( II!'U( II. 

I\ HOLDEN, 

I M TOBER 24th, 181 

WITH i >i ill i: \< I I i.Mi" \ NYING I \i.l;< ISES 



worn Eg 

OPFICl 01 i in. DAILY PR] i hui | u . PRINT] R 



* ti c 

.7? 1-3 



Rev. Wm. P. Paine, D. D. : 

Dear Sir : — The Committee of Arrangements for the Memo- 
rial services in connection with the Fortieth Anniversary of your 
settlement over this church have frequently been requested to publish 
the address given by you on that occasion. 

The Committee heartily unite with others in this wish and ask your 
permission to thus publish it and request you to furnish a manuscript 

copy of the same. 

ETHAN DAVIS, Chairman, 

J. H. GLEASON, Secretary. 

Holden, November 1st, 1873. 



Mr. Ethan Davis and J. H. Gleason, Esq. : 

Gentlemen : — As the discourse to which you refer is both 

historical and statistical, and so may be of some value for reference if 

put into a permanent form, I will cheerfully accede to your request, and 

furnish you a copy for the press. 

WM. P. PAINE. 

Holden, Nov. 8th, 1873. 



PRKKACE 



Ln accordance with a aotice read al the close of the services on the 
S bbath, a meeting was holden in the Town Hall, on the 

id in making arrangements 
in appropriate observance of the Fortieth Anniversary of the settle- 
ment oi' the Rev. Wm P. Paine, over the Congregational Church and 
in Holden, Mass . which occurred Oct 24th, 1833. A committee 
- chosen ae J. II. Gleason IVm. II. Drury and J. T. Bood of 

D SB Hub i J. B. Moore of the 

Chu ( id five ai large viz.: Ethan Davis, Charles PI 

- Winn, Wm. ' I ad !'. M. StowelL 

ected as Chairman Ethan Davis, and J. II. Gleason, 

i he time was short and much work was to be done. Ii was 

ginning that an unusual number were interested in the 

und< ing people volunteered to trim and beautify th*' 

<»ld Church, and the older ones ool to b itdone, met daily i<> wash and 

-h until all was fresh and clean. 

Postal cards were Bent t«. former residents of Holden 

manner coo Jted with this Parish, containing the 

: 1 invitation : 

I 



The Fortieth Anniven Settlement of Rev. William P. 

1 iiinvii and Societ} in Holden, Masa . 

FRIDAY, Ot rOBEB 24TH, 1873. 

't I i fitting manner. 

ormer members of the Church, Parish, or Con Resl 

i a in. have removed from Holdi u. are cordially invited 

ind unite with us in th< 



4 PBEFACE. 

At 2 o'clock, P. M., a Historical Address will be given by the Rev. Br. 
Paine. 

At 4:30, a Collation in the Hall. 

At 7, a Social Re-union in the Church, with appropriate exercises. 

If convenient, please be present with such friends as may be agreeable 
to yourself. 

An extra train will leave for Worcester at the close of the evening 
exercises. 

Per order of the Committee of Arrangements. 

J. H. GLEASON, Secretary. 

Holden, Oct. 8th, 1873. 

Not a little effort was required to find the address of all these. Notices 
were inserted in the Daily and Weekly papers of Worcester, and arrange- 
ments made with the Boston, Barre & Gardner Railroad to run an extra 
train at the close of the services. 

The day proved to be one of October's lovliest, as if Providence smiled 
upon the undertaking At the hour appointed tht= arrangements were 
complete but the number in attendance was so large that nearly a half 
hour passed before the large old fashioned choir accompanied by an 
efficient orchestra were able to make themselves heard in the opening 
Anthem, " O pray for the peace of Jerusalem." The other exercises of 
the afternoon were as follows : 

1st. Invocation by Rev. John Rounds, of the Baptist church in 
Holden. 

2d. Hymn, " Ye tribes of Adam join." 

3d. Reading of Scriptures and Prayer by Rev. Aldin Grout, of 
Springfield. 

4th. Hymn, u Let children hear the mighty deeds.'' 

oth. Historical discourse by Rev. Wm. P. Paine, D. D., pastor of the 
Congregational church in Holden for the past forty years. 

6th. Hymn, " On the Mountain tops appearing." 

7th. Prayer by Rev. Merrill Richardson, of Milford. 

8th. Anthem, " O give thanks unto the Lord." 

9th. Benediction by Dr. Paine. 



DISCOURSE 



I)i i i. vm :2. Thou shalt remember the way in which the Lord thy 
led thee these Forty years. 

The course which the occasion seems to require, is backward 
rather than forward. I>nt retrogression does nol usually open 
fields and vistas favorable to the awakening of the ideal and the 
play of fancy. The imagination is conjured into exer< ise by the 
future, rather than by the past. Historical lads generally gather 
around them little that is poetic. Retrospection is Limited and 

ic if nol tediously prosaic. Suppose a traveller, in a 
strange country, ascends some eminence overlooking both the 
way which he has already travelled and thai over which he is yet 

>; li<»w different are his feelings according as he Looks 

backward or forward ! With a difference of emotion somewhat 

similar, but exceedingly intensified, was the forward look of forty 

to a journey to be here prosecuted, and the backward 

glance of to-day at the same journey so far accomplished. 1 

tried a little to imagine how Joshua and Caleb, after com- 
pleting the fortj years pilgrimage in the wilderness, would have 
felt, it* it had been arranged for them, with Buch as might be 
to go with them, to retrace their Bteps, ro-enter the 
wilderness and return to Egypt by the way fchey had come. I 
••an readily believe that the task would have been undertaken 
with feelings vastly unlike those by which they were exercised in 
commencing their journey toward Canaan, greatly modified by 
experience and age. less bold and dashing, perhaps less hopeful 
and buoyant. I can think how at evei of their backward 



6 ANNIVEBSABT DISCOURSE. 

course, in their hal tings and marchings, in prosperity and adver- 
sity, how tenderly there would be associated with localities and 
times and seasons all along the way, friends and acquaintances, 
strong men and children, wise counsel] or s, and men and women 
with willing and generous hearts, who were with them in the 
first journey, helping to bear burdens and to give cheer by kind 
offices and loving words, but now gone, not a visible sign of 
them remaining unless, perhaps, here and there some transitory 
monument of their names and deeds. 

But we do not propose to return exactly in this manner over 
our forty years pilgrimage. In the first place let no one describe 
our course as a ivilderness at all, of privation, discouragement 
and mutual complaint, certainly your pastoral leader is not now, 
and never has been in a mood to accept such a representation. 
There are other essential differences, our pilgrimage is not yet 
completed. We are turning back while yet on our journey 
together, and are retracing in an hoar the steps which we have 
been forty years in taking. What a marvel is memory, passing 
with such surprising alertness over scores of years of pastoral 
history, and yet with so much particularity and precision! What 
an agent to gather up in a moment of time materials scattered 
over a long life both, perhaps, commendatory and accusing. 
Those years of our past lives, which are gone in the reckoning of 
time, are and ever will be present to memory and in full view. 

When one from a pastor's stand-point looks back over any con- 
siderable period of parochial history, names, impressions and 
affecting reminiscences must constitute, while thus employed, a 
very essential part of his experience. But a very few with whom 
I commenced this forty years' journey are with us to-day. But 
where are they whom we miss. In retracing the course we find 
them here and there along the way and they become a great 
company. I remember them vividly and lovingly. I remember 
the very places where they stopped by the way, because they had 
not strength to accompany us farther. The view on every side 
stirs up memories which are vivid and tender, yet not all are 
occasions of sadness nor all of cheer. In the varied discipline 



VIVJEBSABT DISCOUBSE. 

of life, whether we are going toward in exultant anticipations, 
or backward in more chastened retrospection, the rcsull should 
:al culture and spiritual improvement. When old 
acquaintances meeting together, whether casually or by d< 

gurely will and with little delay, to talk of the 

rlaw do not aim at much system in their rehearsals and 

remini *. 1 shall be quite likely to pursue a somewhat 

similar course at the present time, and I Bhall be obliged to 

I on this memorable journey, with a speed characteristic of 

the present a; en steam will hardly suffice. 1 should be 

iiiad t<» be able t<> bring into use some electrical scintillations i<> 

-ion. 

tidition of the church and society at the 

• li peoj.lf and minister, it 

tand some things relating to their previous 

A historj of by from ining for more 

i century atially the history of the 

one under town warrants and by town 

concern nor difficulty in raising 

1 and re , than for schools 

When the people of the ei UllllK Ml Wealt ll eallir 

into den - became nec- 

Ai'iv formed into distinct legal organiza- 

lt) . and ours among them, continued 

[uired a& upon indi- 

mner of conducting our finan- 

iii. I rnder this rule 

ipriations were al i be found in 

nd the i triably ready on a 

Individual atively light, little 

than nominal. 

nol continued. The brief 
that the ii.iny who were miu illinp to 

in their lo though the burden 

another withd older until the p 

thai it could not be endured bv the t«-w who n the 



8 ANNIVEBSABY DlbUOUBSE. 

course of voluntary contribution was adopted, which is attended 
with more trouble and uncertainty, but with less disaffection. 

I was settled here in a storm, — not indeed of natural elements 
for the day was clear, bland and delightful, — but of moral, or 
perhaps it may better be said* of reformatory elements. When 
the vessel in which we had embarked together, had fairly sailed 
out of port, I cannot say that I did not, as I observed the threat- 
ening and even angry skies, indulge in some regrets that I had 
not remained on land a while longer and then taken passage in 
some other ship. But I found the storm less severe, and sooner 
calmed, and the voyage less tempestuous than I then feared. 
lemperance was the chief occasion of the fretting and upheaving 
of the sea. No material injury however has been produced by 
the agitation of the waters which was then, and which has since 
been caused by purifying winds and even tempests ; while a 
multitude have been essentially benefitted and saved to virtue 
and prosperity. 

From the present relation of ministers to temperance interests, 
it is not easy to understand to what jealousies and difficulties an 
advocacy of the cause rendered them liable forty years since. 
Ministers were not then, to the extent which they now are, sus- 
tained by those only who were favorably disposed to the temper- 
ance cause. There were then many good and true men who were 
not prepared for either personal abstinence, or for such public 
presentations of the subject as the more advanced and ardent 
friends of the cause deemed as proper and as positively required. 
After preaching here six Sabbaths, beginning January 1833, as I 
was about leaving the place, a member of the church called upon 
me, and after some complimentary remarks, said that he was 
" in favor of inviting me to settle here, provided I was right on 
the temperance question." I replied that I trusted I was about 
right, that in my own habits I was strictly a temperance 
man, that I regarded it a very important interest, and desired to 
do all I consistently could to promote the reformation. Then 
said he " if you settle here shall you preach upon it ?" I 
answered that I had not yet marked out a distinct line of topics 






ANNIVEBSABY DISC0U1 9 

for pulpit isles, bat thought I should probably preach on this 

r I could then see nun. - ma for it and nunc 

against it. "Shall you/' he continued, " say as some min 
do that he who drinks a little is worse than a drunkard 
told him that I should not lie likely to express myself in just 

it say that I could conceivi 

which the moderate drinker might exert a more extended and 

injurious influence on the cause than a dozen drunkards could 

Hie man did nut appear entirely satisfied. I never knew whether 

_ :inst my settlement, but he seemed friendly to 

I ttended church with a good measure of regularity during 

This individual instance represented not a small class 

of this ty in thf early period of my ministry, 

i :s <>n which a multitude of 

re days of heated 

id unhappy jcalousi< n members of some 

comm nd not unfrequcntly between pastor and people 

• on our way thus far between Scylla 
. ic or devoured 
f tumult and divisions 
. kably. ; lie way. Lc 

»ur land. While 
il still remains in formidable proportions, it is 
a lia; ■ that the virtuous and the friends 

unit in desire and el emovc it from tin- 

land. >o that if mini- ill right " on temperance, 

-iv opposed so far as this 
■ do much to sustain religious 
much for the of christian 

mil: 

d and grateful notice, when pastur and 
,1 to carry an anl moral 

■ 
iiid moral worth tnmunity, 

. lias 
: by many i 
- 



10 ANNIVEJISABY DISCOUBSE. 

have generally been such as it might be expected would attend 
the progress of revolving years. 

It is always delicate, if not dangerous, for one to say much of 
himself, or of his own works, and when there is no special 
occasion for it, the less said the better. Yet in giving the most 
hasty and superficial account of a forty years' ministry, one could 
hardly avoid making personal reference to a greater degree than 
one of sensitive appreciation would desire. I am sure you will 
permit me to say that, however unfaithfully I have served you, I 
have to a large extent given you my presence and time. I have 
probably been absent too little for either my own good or yours. 
It has not generally been my practice to take my stipulated 
vacations. I have not often been away on pleasure excursions 
and never in search of other places to settle. It has been in 
my mind and heart to do much more and better for you than I 
have done. The imperfections have resulted sometimes from 
lack of wisdom, sometimes from want of health, and too often 
alas ! for lack of a due measure of consecration of spirit to 
Christ's work. 

The present pastorate has embraced a period more difficult 
than any preceeding one in New England's history, to keep in 
vigorous and progressive operation religious institutions in 
country towns. Forty years ago rail-roading was in its infancy, 
and had done little to develop and stimulate business. There 
were not many centers of trade and industry, or of population, 
except in a few cities on the sea-board. Agriculture was the 
chief employment in rural districts ; and having little Western 
competition, was profitable and generally satisfactory. There 
being little to invite young men and women to leave the localities 
of their nativity, they remained at or near their early homes. 
Seldom did the precious old homestead go out of the family, but 
descended from father to son for generations, and besides, those 
were days of larger families than are now usually found in our 
native American homes. The result of this state of things was a 
country population in almost every place, at least holding its 
own and in most localities increasing. And the men and women 



ANNIVEBSABT DISCOTJh 11 

of tho>c days were of strong and sterling character, with the 

►us clement largely developed, who cheerfully sustained, by 
their contributions, influence and presence, the institutions of 
the church, providing also funds for schools which were attended 
by a large number of sturdy scholars who were taughi to obey 

and to conduct themselves with propriety. Such essentially 

of things in this place at the commencement of 

my pastorate. There was oot then a foreigner in the town, and 

nearly tin- entire population of suitable age ami condition, 

led public worship somewhere and rendered pecuniary 

e in sustaining the same. Probably there are not now 

more than twenty-five dwelling houses (certainly less than 

thirty ) in the entire town, occupied by those, or their descendants, 

who inhabited them at the time of my settlement. The family 

has gone from them, and not a few have changed owner- 
ship many times. This is a marvellous change compared with 

ding periods of tin- same length. It would doubtless more 
:cord with the facts, to reverse the ratio, and say that 

than thirty dwellings, during any preceding forty years, 

Miit of tin- family and lost the family name. It may also 

be mentioned, as indicative of the great changes which a series 

produce in a community, that not more than eight 

or nine couples, sustaining the relation of husband and wife, who 

1 in Ilolden at the time of my settlement are now hero 

with the union undissolved by death. But let it by no means he 

i that nil changes, which have occurred, should he put 

to the account of loss. Many of them have materially swelled 

iluinn of gain. This is doubtless true to a greater extent 

than in many places where the percentage of change lias 
been tin- same an ours. Km mutability like this, in parochial 
nnot hm render nil religious interests comparatively 
uncertain ami unsystematic, being the occasion of anxious watch 

nd careful planning, and not unfrequently laying heavy 
burdens upon the ready and willing. I wish here to itness 

that during my ministry, and to this day there lia^ 
goodly number of men and women, both older and younger, who 



12 ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 

have evinced a highly commendable degree of interest in sustain- 
ing the institutions of religion in this community, and in making 
generous and cheerful provision for the wants and comfort of the 
pastor. 

The chain of evergreen, bearing a cross so ingeniously devised, 
and executed so artistically, which I see suspended gracefully over 
my head, consists of forty links. The design is to represent forty 
years of cross-bearing'. It would doubtless be a fitting symbol of 
the life of some ministers of the gospel ; but it surely is not of 
mine. I have not been a cross-bearer in my pastoral relations, and 
if there be a fault in this regard, it must be yours rather than mine. 
From the beginning of my ministry you have denied me the 
right, if it be a right, and the privilege, if it be a privilege, of 
reaping the fruits of the discipline of a cross-bearing service 
in the vineyard of the master. I have no harsh nor unkind 
treatment of myself nor of ni} T family, no neglect, no grievances 
of any kind, to charge upon the people either as a church, societv 
or individuals ; none to remember for none exist, and none ever 
have had existence during this protracted relation. One sustain- 
ing the pastoral office could not ask for, nor desire more kind 
and considerate treatment than I have uniformly received from 
you and those who preceded you. And I desire both as an act 
of justice, and as a great pleasure to bear public testimony that 
I have very often received precious and generous and substantial 
tokens of sympathy and friendship from those who had once been 
respected parishoners but had left us for other places of abode. 
Their highly appreciated expressions of good-will have been both 
individual and combined. I desire that every such friend and 
and donor will accept my most cordial thanks. I can hardly re- 
strain myself just here, from rehearsing names of men and 
women, in town and out, living and dead, who have rendered 
very efficient service to the society, and church and pastor during 
these many years. But the catalogue would be too long. They 
are not forgotten, their works do follow them, and they are held 
in respectful and tender remembrance. May the rich blessings 
of God ever rest upon them! Let me here, in behalf of this 



ANNlVEn8A B Y VI8( 'OtJRSK 

religions Society extend a cordial welcome and fervent saluta- 
tions to the many old acquaintances ami beloved friends who, 
havii _ om us are honoring ami cheering us by their 

«.n this memorial si >n. We are delighted t<> 

the familiar countenances of you all. and to hear the voices of 
you in - _. - of old. 
Th'- period under review is not more remarkable for fluctuation 
in local and limited interests than for essential changes and 
progress in whatever concerns the condition of all peoples of all 
Lands T ae on the present occasion, would fail to note in the 
fewest possible words, even the headings, without a syllable of 
stinguishing events and discourses and appli- 
►n <»f forces which have marked these years. Hut develop- 
ments in tic a 3 am and electricity, in mechanism, in arts 
and a is have no more than kept pace with the moral move- 
iriod of which \ c. It has not been dis- 
tinguished above other periods for blood ami carnage among the 
nations, nor for national revolutions. The division lines of 
Empires and States t<» ;i great extent remain a- they were, half a 
century ago. Hut a large portion of the people have experienced 
ernmental, social and moral condition. Such 
elm. have oever been wrought on so Large a >>-ale in an 
equal number of years since the world began. Ami there is no 
diminution, bul a constant increase in the moral forces which 
are at work. The grand revolution which mark 8 this age ami 
ly the very days now passing, is one of ideas, of civil 
oid moral obligations, of the true relations of men t«> 

:i other, of neighbor to neighbor, of nation to nation, of people 
srnment, of subjects to rulers and of all to God. If 
darkic-- -till exists, light is everywhere breaking in. If there 
profound ignorance, knowledge is becoming widely spread. 
Though there is yet a great Lack of instructors, many are run- 
ning to and fro. 

These revolving years so rapidly coming and going are not 
passing by without Leaving their mark. Many of the results are 
most cheering and glorious. Living at a period when then 



14 ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 

such an onward movement, and such inspiring developments 
even in a short life, in a single pastorate, who can be an idle 
observer of the Avorlcl's condition and progress ? Who can 
doubt whether there is a call for personal service with a promise 
of success ? One cannot be so blind in these stirring days as 
not to know that " Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." These 
years are not as an idle tale, they teach rich and impressive 
lessons, even while on the wing. They are freighted with truth 
and promise ; each at its departing, pointing to its various 
developments relating to the prosperity of the kingdom of right- 
eousness, utters these assuring words, " In the incoming- years ye 
shall see greater things than these." 

But amid remarkable changes, some of our parochial interests 
have been as wonderfully stable. One relates to our houses of 
worship. In 1736 a vote was passed by the proprietors of the 
precinct, (it was before the incorporation of the town), " to erect 
a meeting-house fifty feet long, forty feet wide and twenty two 
feet between joints." The site of the house was near where Mr. 
Isaac Damon's house now stands. Such a sanctuary would now 
make a very rude appearance, but was quite reputable as viewed 
in connection with the habits and demands of those days. In 
about fifty years, that house having become somewhat dilapidated, 
the question was discussed in a Town meeting held Dec. 10th, 
1787 whether the old meeting-house should be repaired or a new 
one built. The prevalent opinion was that there should be a new 
one, which was carried into effect during the year 1789. The 
house in which we are now assembled is the one which 
was then built, now eighty-four years old. . Li 1828 it was 
extensively remodeled. It originally stood about midway from 
its present site to the highway in front. The roof was turned a 
quarter round, a vestibule and dome were added and the interior 
entirely changed. It now becomes an important question 
whether something should not again be done by way of repairing 
and remodeling. I am glad to know that there are many who 
think there should be, and speedily. If it should be said that 
the expense could not be afforded, I should feel like saying that 



AirmvERSAiiT Disi om u 

the society cannol afford not to do it. Vestry-room is a very 
urgent want in relation to the prosperity of a religious society. 
The best good of a church, society and Sunday school requires a 
home i ell as dors a household. 

The pastorate lias been almost as Btable as the meeting-houses. 
Then" ed minister of this society was Rev. Joseph Davis 

who was ordained Dee. 22, 174:!. the same day on which the 
church was constituted and by the same council thai officiated in 
its formation. The church thus organized consisted of fourteen 
members, and. what IS somewhat singular, all were males. But 
it cannot be supposed that there were no good and devout women 
iii the place at that time Surely their Labors have been abund- 
ant and useful in everj period of the church's history. Nearly 
project, whether social or religious is both lame and 
without their co-operation. Mr. Davis held the pastoral 

office about thirty years, till January 1 7 7 - > . The church was 

then withoul a pastor (and for the only time during its entire 
history of more than one hundred and thirty years) till Dec. 
21st, L774, a little less than two years, when Rev. Joseph Avery 

irdained and installed, lie held the office of sole pastor 
till Oct. 22d, \^--\. and thai of Benior pastor until his death 
March 5th, 1824, having arrived at the age of seventy-two years. 
Rev. Horatio Bardwell was Installed junior pastor Oct. 22d, 
L823, and was dismissed on the day of the present pastor* s ordi- 
nation. Oct. 24th, 1^ ; '» ; ;. Making but lour pastorates in one 
hundred and thirty-one years. But tew churches can furnish a 
record of so great pastoral stability. The pastorate of the 
present incumbent has been of longer duration than of any oilier 
minister of our denomination in Massachusetts, now m service, 
who has ii" colleague, and not more than two or three who have 

helpers, have served one people so long. If I was to ac< nt for 

this protracted relation in the briefest manner, I should say thai 
it was mainly because the people had refrained wholly fioiu inter- 
fering with the pastor's duties, and thai he had endeavored to 

himself within the bounds of his own appropriate 
And also as having a direct and essential bearing on this point it 



16 A]SrmVEBSABY DISCOUBSE. 

should be said that there has invariably been practical and sym- 
pathetic harmony between the pastor and the choir, each cheer- 
fully rendering to the other the possession of rights and the 
gratification of tastes. When railroads have two tracks they are 
so laid that trains shall not conflict with each other, though 
they both belong to the road and have equal rights in it If 
either train jumps its own track there is apt to be serious trouble. 
When men sustain relations to each other, peace and prosperity 
will, to a great extent, be in the ratio of the amiable discretion 
they carry into practical life, and in no relation, is a just appre- 
ciation of mutual rights and a disposition to regard them, more 
essential to harmony and success than that between pastor and 
people. 

There has been nothing in respect to mortality in the town 
during the period under review, specially peculiar. The whole 
number of deaths in the forty years, has been thirteen hundred 
and two. The largest number being in 1854 when there were 
forty-five and the smallest in 1841 when there were twenty-one. 
In the first twenty years there were six hundred and thirteen 
deaths in the town, and during the last twenty, six hundred and 
eighty-nine. 

xVt the time of my settlement there were four Deacons of the 
church, Deacons Joshua Fairbanks, Peter Rice, John Lovell and 
Silas Flagg, all of wl om being good and useful men, have passed 
away. Six have since been elected to the same office, Deacons 
Cyrus Perry, Silas M. Hubbard, Alonzo L. Ware, Newell Moore, 
Samuel B. Hubbard and John B. Moore, only the last two named 
still live. All those who acted on committees of both church 
and society in reference to my call and settlement are dead. With 
one exception, Rev. George Allen of Worcester, the clergymen 
who took a part in the exercises of my ordination are dead. But 
not only have officials of the church passed away, but of the four 
hundred and fifty members at the time of my settlement, not 
more than twenty-five are now with us. A few more still live, 
who have gone to reside in some other locality. During the years 
under review there have been received into the church four 






NJVBBSABY DISCOZTB 17 

hundred and sixty-two. very many of whom have already p 
from earthly service. I have officiated at three hundred and 
forty-eight weddings. Thei s soi this latter p 

which illustrates that important changes arc in progress in this 

. in the jjIki^c of population. Dividing the forty years into 

08, 1 married during the first ten years one hundred and 

twenty-three couples ; the second ten, one hundred and three: 

the third ten. fifty-five, and the fourth ten, sixty-seven. The 

first ten years I married more than during the last twenty. This 

ence is largely due to a change in population, in respect to 

both age and nationality. 

I have attended more than a thousand funerals, which have 
taken me to a hire', portion of the dwellings of this town. In 

running my thoughts over the place 1 indeed find scarcely any, 
>1 a few in" itly erected, to which I have not been 

called on this rand, and to many over and over again. 

I ][:• it four thousand BCrmOllS, and have .-pent 

with you more than li . and a half of time in Sabbaths. 

1 have administered tin' sacrament of the Supper about 

two hundred and forty times. While 1 had strength to devote 

much time and labor to interests outside of pastoral works. T 

ded it both a duty and privilege to afford direct aid in the 

>:ion of tli<' prosperity of our schools, both common and 

ed as chairman of the school i onimittco thirty-four 

. and derived much satisfaction from the >f the 

>l-room, and the intimate acquaintance I formed and kept 

i an- not now 

nearly BO many u ho attend our sch 

after ray scttlemcn! 
oral dial ricts the present number is not half 
those days, and m pupils then continued their conn 

with se and more mature porio 

now. whir!) it Bcems to m i their 

There b 
precio ma of special religion* 



18 ANNIVEBSABY DISCOUBSE. 

in the Spring of 1834, the second in the Autumn of 1836, the 
third in the Winter of 1838, the fourth in the Winter of 1841, 
the fifth in the Winter and Spring of 1843, the sixth in the 
Spring of 1850, the seventh in the Spring of 1851, the eighth in 
the Winter and Spring of 1850, the ninth in 1857-8 and the 
tenth in 1869. A very large proportion, indeed nearly all who 
have united with the church during my pastorate were the fruits 
of these revivals. The church has not been altogether unpro- 
ductive in some special fruits. At least eleven of her sons have 
received a college education during this period, and several 
others previously. At least seven have become ministers of the 
gospel and seven young women have married ministers within 
this time. Since the commencement of the enterprise of Foreign 
Missions two from this church have gone on missions to Turkey, 
two to Africa, three to the Sandwich Islands, two to the Indians 
of our own country and two to labor for the Freedmcn. Of this 
number all, with two exceptions, have gone from us during my 
pastorate. Few country churches or indeed city churches can 
furnish a record of numbers for such service equal to this. 

For the first thirty years of my ministry my wife arid myself 
spent very agreeably and I trust profitably, much time in visiting 
the people from house to house. In this way we cultivated an 
intimate acquaintance with both the older and younger members 
of the congregation. We felt that at all events the children, 
and there were many of them, must be cared for and it was our 
endeavor to do what we could publicly and privately, for their 
instruction and well-being, not neglecting to stimulate parents in 
regard to their duties. There have been few sources of more 
pleasure, than the expressions of grateful recognition of such 
labors which have from time to time, come to us from those who 
felt that they were helped by these influences in their earlier 
days. During the last decade I have not been able, in addition 
to my public labors, to do so much pastoral work ; some of the 
time indeed very little. I feel strongly inclined to the perform- 
ance of this kind of service to the Mi extent that I have strength 
to do, for it is in a high degree useful, and also an employment 
very far from being to me disagreeable or irksome. 



ANNWBBSARY DISCOURSE. 19 

Daring this long scries of years, many of you have been deeply 
afflicted in the progress of providential events. "The gold has 
often become dim and the most fine gold changed." The Lights 
of many of your dwellings have been put out and von have been 
1 1 1 : i le to watch and weep in deep shadows. Pleasing hope baa 
been cut oil', joy has been turned into Badness, and many amerrv 
la-art has been suddenly overwhelmed with Lamentations and 
mourning. As silver cords have been Loose L, and golden bowls 
broken, von have painfully learned and deeply felt that all 
beneath the Bkies is fading and transitory. To such experiences 
your pastor has been no stranger. When 1 came liere I had 
never lost a friend by death, which had caused me one pang of 
re;d --rie!". 1 cannot say so now. There have been eight mem- 
bers of my family: only three of us remain. In memorial 

.nous which 1 have preached on former occasions, some refer- 
ence was made to such members of my family as God had then 
taken to himself. Since then another has been called up higher. 
Though 1 shrink from uttering one word on this occasion con- 
cerning her. 1 cannot but feel that to past tl \ent in entire 

silence would he doing a wrong both to a precious memory and 

to you. She who was my friend wa> your friend also. She loved 

you, and it was her delight to help you. When she came to 
labor amid these scenes she most cheerfully left a condition 
which, in a worldly aspect, would seem highly attractive to one 
ring only ease and pleasure. EJcr sorvice for Christ ami for 
you w;i> rastly more satisfactory to her than would have been a 
position of Less responsibility and of more affluence, independ- 
ence and display. She had an ardent attachment to whatever 
relate! ■ i and his kingdom, ami wa> fervently devoted to 

that which pertained t<» the interests, temporal ami spiritual of 

her fellow beings, and most especially of yourselves. I will not 
enlarge upon her qualities of mind and heart which gave her a 
place so large ami essential in the family circle, and rendered ber 
such o priceless wrife and mother. [ make this brief uttcrci 
the more freely l know that my words heard 

by those who knew her well, and knew her hot. 



20 ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 

Coming licrc as I did in early life, directly from the schools, 
where I had been immured the chief of my days, entirely inex- 
perienced in every thing relating to pastoral responsibilities, the 
present painfully strange, and the future anxiously doubtful, if I 
had then been asked to imagine some event of all possible ones 
the least likely to occur in my history, I might have replied, to 
remain in Holdcn to preach a fortieth anniversary discourse. 
Such are the expectations of men and such the ways of God. 
But where is the great congregation then present to look upon 
the young minister and he upon them ? Here one, and there 
one, and that is all. Church officers all gone. Superintendents 
of the Sunday school, one after another passed away ; of the 
teachers and scholars, very few remaining. The large choir that 
filled the orchestra to the brim and more, all gone, — no not all. 
There was then a ivee one who had just taken her place in the choir, 
and by standing on the tips of her toes, and making an extra effort 
to elongate her stature, could just be seen above the orchestra's 
breastwork. But she was not long shut out of either eye or ear, 
and during all these years, with most remarkable constancy she 
has put in an appearance Sabbath after Sabbath, and whenever 
and wherever else her presence has been required, and continues 
to this day to render invaluable aid in the service of song. 

With his mind crowded with such memories should you not 
think that the pastor might feel almost alone to-day ? Well, he 
both does and does not, and does not more than he does. Many 
warm friends rallied around him in his early ministerial life, 
whom imperious Time has taken from him, till now those early 
and true ones arc nearly gone ; but others have taken their 
places who arc just as sympathetic and precious. There were 
those in former clays, who loved the interests of Zion, and were 
fervent friends of the watchman who stood upon her walls, and 
now also the pastor finds himself encompassed by kindred 
spirits. As those gone before have fallen, the ranks have closed 
up and the pastor, to this day, has never been left without a 
faithful and trusty body-guard. 



ajmbyxmbabt viscot -i 

In giving this narration of facts, having hecn necessarily led 

auch concerning depressing change and attending 

evils. 1 ought in justice to our present state to say more and 

- what is my firm conviction, thai the darkest days in 

; ,ni to this society's prosperity are already passed and that 

the present is highly encouraging. There are with us both 

harmony and strength. There is mental and pecuniary ability. 

The tive appreciation of good order and of religious 

ordinances. There is zeal for truth and for God, and when 

aroused there is a willingness to work, which. I have no doubt 

will insure ways and means such as the well-being of the church 

and society requires. The preparation for this memorial occa- 

n illustration of this. The prosperity of the town, in my 

view, will gradually improve rather than further wane, and the 

religious organizations of the place will be materially benefitted 

thereby. 

In retracing this memorial way. over which we have walked 

iher tl lily coming and going years, away hack 

the time and place of the beginning of my pastoral ca 

1 seem for the moment to be standing now as I stood (hen, to 

be Looking upon faces and Listening to vi they were then 

i and heard, and to feel as I then felt. Every thing was bo 

age as to produce something Like a blinding giddiness ///'//. 

and the pn if it could hardly be a reality. One 

can better bear, without tender and Startling emotion, a look 

upon the way over which he has come, when the review is only 
cursory, than when it is more statistically exact. The surface of 
history is one thing, its vital realities are quite another; and 
though one who has nearly run his race, the divers items of which 
have already been collected into recorded annals, may in memory 
run back to the beginning and seem for a little momcnl to he 

/ to;- ;i in en ml. I I ml 

l'eel that the starting place away hack in the past, Once SO hope- 
ful perhaps, hut more like ain fully uncertain, is not in 
reality his present place ol standing. It is as a dream where one 

awaketh. and one impr* lively feels 'hat he is actually near the 



22 ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE. 

end rather than at the beginning of his career. ho ! This 
year is not 1833, but 1873, and we are now really here and not 
away back in the distant and shadowy past. 

Going backward whether it gives pleasure or pain, is a work 
to be done only by memory : but faitliful service and solemn 
destiny are concerned in that which is yet to come. Memory 
has serious official duties to discharge for either one's weal or 
woe ; but for amends and improvement and fidelity to trust the 
present and future only are ours. Life is short, over which 
memory may either weep or revel ; but eternity is long for both 
the plaudits of commendation and the stinging reproaches of a 
guilty conscience. In our review we have been gathering up items 
not so much of detached individual relations and interests, as 
pertaining to a grand divine institution for the amelioration of the 
ills of life and the moral and spiritual restoration of man. The 
church has a noble work commended to its charge, and when 
minister and people work kindly and harmoniously together as 
we, I repeat it emphatically, as we have ever done without one 
exception, these forty years, and in addition are duly consecrated 
to Christ and faithful to God and man, the kingdom of righteous- 
ness must increase and flourish, and the gates of hell cannot pre- 
vail against it. 



EXERCISES. 






occasion called together a large aumbcr ol the sons and daughters 

of the town from abroad, who improved the opportunity for the renewal 

- ciations. 

The house wa9 crowed to its utmost capacity both on the floor and in 

rhe audience room was most beautifully decorated with 

a decked with autumn leaves and bouquets. On the 

walls back of the pulpit were the words •• Welcome home." Also the 

I and 1873 connected bj an evergreen chain containing forty 

link-, supporting a beautiful i □ i mblem of the length and char- 

actei ices in this place. 

A collation had been prepared in the Town Hall for five hundred 
persons and although fully that number were fed, there were more than 
•• twelve I fragments left" 

Thnc horn- intervened between the afternoon and evening exercises. 
Yet the time was much too Bhoii tor th<- warm hand Bhakings and 
hearty greetings which were engaged in by all. 

The design of the committee was to make the evening exercises more 
joyous and mirthful than those «»t' the afternoon. 

One of tie- in is! widi .1 rake of the ons of Elolden \\.i- selected to 

Bet the ball in motion. It was soon evident however that this part of 

the programme could nol he carried out in the manner intended. Every 

seemed cxtr< melj happy, hut no our was in ;t mood for witty Boy- 

. playful remai N > one seemed to regret the change however 

for it was in unison with the feelings of all. The exercises were in the 

church commencing at half past seven o'clock Charles Flagg acted ai 

lent of the evening and Ethan 1 1 star. 

The members of Lhc Baptist and < tional choirs and a large 

Dumber of >f foi m >r da 1 heir places in •■ : I 

the number of oea An old fashioned orchestra with 

the idi Dti -d double bOSS Viol played in the -nine place :.eu]\ ; 

1 1 1 G m the leader oi 



24 ANNIVEBSABY EXEBCISES. 

tional choir had charge of the musical entertainment during the day and 
evening. The rendering of the old tunes called forth inany kind and 
pleasant remarks complimentary to those taking part in the performance. 

After an Anthem the Rev. Cyrus M. Perry of Southwick led in 
Prayer. 

The Sentiments were as follows : 

1st. The occasion we celebrate : may its effect be as salutary in the 
future as this gathering is delightful in the present. 

Response by Rev. Elnathan Davis, of Auburn. 

2d. The native ministers of Holden : may they never fail to produce 
a pure and progressive theology. 

Response by Rev. Merrill Richardson of Milford. 

3d. The missionaries who have gone out from our homes : may their 
labors of love be as blessed to the heathen as their memories have been 
to their friends they left behind. 

Response by Rev. Aldin Grout, of Springfield, a missionary in South 
Africa for thirty years. His present and former wife were natives 
of Holden. 

4th. Our beloved Pastor : for forty years a leader of this people in 
the wilderness ; may he realize in their love and gratitude the Canaan 
of his hopes and the reward of his labors. 

Rev. Br. Paine made a feeling response in a few words full of genuine 
emotion. 

The following original hymn by Rev. Elnathan Davis was then sung: 



HYMN. 

O Father ! how the swift years glide, 

Their seasons come and go ! 
No ebb to their resistless tide. 

On — as of old they flow ! 

But yesterday, thy servant stood, 
Brown-locked among young men, 

To-day among the brotherhood 
Of " three score years and ten." 

Ah ! they who wrought beside him then. 

In manhood's later day, 
Have faded from the ways of men ! 

"The fathers, where are they ?" 



ANNTVEB8ABY EXEBCI& -•> 

ad where the youth, who warm of hand. 
Gave greeting full and free ? 
A toil worn, gray and broken band. 
Make answer, " Here are we." 

Y : not in barrenness and . 

Have passed these years away. 
For love grows warmer by the cross. 
Life, brighter in decay. 

And happier thou at evening time. 

Thy toil, fruit-crowned to-day, 
Than, brother, where In manhood's prime 

Our hearts first owned thy sway. 

And though the light of thy young life. 

With other li_ g me, 

In ad earth's pain and strife. 

They -bine forever on ! 

Saviour, in the world abi 
All passed, our Bin, our fear. 
Re-knit in bonds of eh 
The old ties sundered here. 

5th. The Congregational Church of Holden. The home of good and 
true children. 

iithwick. 
6th. The gentleman who first brought our pastor !<» our homes. ThcD 
• driver, afterwards a member of I . now crowned with still 

higher hon ol of the Boston, Barrc cV Gardner Railroad. 

spected to respond but was unable to bo 
nt. 

7th. Woman : though Btrangcly ignored in the formation of this 

Church, yet in I fully and vigorously ready 

[<>v >■: I word and work. 

i;> i Natick. 

8th. The adopted a : all respected and beloved. 

■ high places of honor and trust in State and nation. 
all unite to-day in paying honor to the home of their adoption 

i riiillipston. 

1 



26 ANNIVEBSABY EXEBCISES. 

9th. Our Chorister of to-day : for many years leader of the service 
of song in this house. May he long stand upon the base he now 
occupies. 

The response to this sentiment by J. H. Gleason called up Dr. Paine 
who corroborated the allusions to the pleasant relations which had always 
existed between the Pastor and the Choir. 

10th. The young ladies and gentlemen of Holclen : their taste and 
labor in the decorations and duties of this occasion are but a type of 
their ability and readiness for all the works of life. 

Response by Arthur R. Paine, son of the Pastor. 

11th. Holden, formerly Worcester North, when she becomes a great 
dty like Worcester, may she have as good a Mayor. 

Response by Mayor Jillson, of Worcester. 

12th. Our Friends from abroad always welcome to our homes. 

John Boyden of Worcester was called upon to respond to this senti- 
ment, which he did in a pleasing manner, and closed by moving, 
(seconded by W. E. Minturn,) the raising of a contribution by visiting 
friends to be presented to Dr. Paine as a token of their kind regard. 
This motion was carried and the sum of $116.00, was received, nearly 
one half of which was generously contributed by our former townsman, 
Edward Kendall, Esq., now of Cambridge, Mass., who also responded in 
a few well chosen remarks. The president of the evening expressed 
his own thanks and gratification for this voluntary expression of the 
friends of Dr. Paine, who had previously left for home. 

Rev. Elnathan Davis was then called on for a poem as the closing 
exercise. 

POEM : 

Read by request, at the close of tbe reunion service in the evening, by Elnathan Davis, 

Zealous, and strong for his life-long work — 
Bearing the precious seed to sow — 
Our brother trod 
These hills of God, 
Just forty years ago. 

No vision of wealth to his keen eye came, 
Or song of renown to his ear ; 

But his chosen part 

Was to touch the heart 
Of the scattered dwellers here : — 



ANNIVERSARY EXEBCISES. 

To reach, and stir to their inmost depths. 
The souls whom lie came to bless : — 

To lead the dock 

To thy Bhadowing rock, 
O Lord — our righteousness I 

And here, with his hand to the Master's plow, 

He has toiled from his manhood's prime — 

Till the low-lying sun 

Speaks of life's work done, 
And of "rest at the evening time." 

We breathe our prayer for thy servant, Lord : 
His treasure below, be thy love ; — 

All unshaken his trust 

Till the flesh fades to dust, 
And the bouI Bprings t«> Mansions above. 

And on all, who from differenl fields of toil. 

( ome t<» share in these Bcenes to-day ; 
Mid tlu- joya and fears 

Of the flying years — 

B( the blessing of God, we pray I — 
infinite blessing •• thai maketh rich. 

And addeth no Sorrow thereto" — 

O, the blossom^ of love ! — 

Let them fall from above, 
All the path- of the future to Btrew ! 

Now, encircled around the old altar of home, 
So we purpose— age, manhood, and youth— 

That, in pleasure Or pain. 

The yean that remain 
Shall be given to God, and Bis truth I 

() Thou, who d<>-t had thy redeemed, as ;i (lock. 

'I'm the hills -I' refreshment and rest— 
luntains that bursl 
For the pilgrims w ho thirst, 

On their inarch to the home <•!' the blest 



28 ANNIVEBSABT JEXEBCISES. 

Be our guide in the weakness and dimness of earth, 
Till its dimness and weakness are o'er, 

And our weary feet stand 

In the beautiful land, 
With the loved who have passed on before ! 



On motion of D. F. Parker, of Worcester, a vote of thanks was given 
by the visitors, to the citizens of Holden, for their sumptuous entertain- 
ment. At a late hour the exercises were brought to a close and a large 
majority of our visiting friends took the cars for home. Thus ended 
one of the most interesting occasions that has ever occurred in this town. 
Many visited their old home for the last time ; friends met who had not 
met for many years and may never meet again. The remembrance of 
this day will not soon pass away. 

Letters were received from Rev. Mr. Marvin, of Lancaster, Rev; G-. 
L. G-leason, of Manchester, Mass., John E. Chaffin, of Detroit, Mich,, 
C. M. Wilson, of Chicago, 111., and others, all expressing their regrets 
that they could not be present, and their high regard and respect for 
our venerable Pastor, Dr. Paine. 



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